The USMNT is down to Honduras early in qualifying for the World Cup, and they are making lovers of the sport think that they could fall apart and lose their qualification for the World Cup. They have not thrown away their qualification for the World Cup yet, but they should not be playing this poorly against teams like Honduras. They must step up their game, and they must take a long hard look at what they are doing.
Sluggish defense
Sluggish defense seems to be a theme with the USMNT, and they are causing problems for themselves because they allow easy goals that better teams would not allow.
The USMNT is creating a situation in which no one can trust them with their simplest tasks because those functions are not handled well. Running slowly to the ball, allowing easy goals, and letting lesser teams score easily is not fair to the team or the people who love it.
Will they qualify?
They should, but maybe they will not. They may lose their qualification if they fall into a pit of despair that causes them to overplay lesser teams. Overworking yourself against a team that you should beat will cause injuries, poor defense, and make the team tired. Soccer is a grueling game that you play on a large field, and the USMNT could wear itself out over the course of any coming matches. If they do not qualify, it is a national embarrassment.
If they do, they still have a lot to prove.
Everyone is noticing
On a personal note, I was listening to Michael Kay, and the first goal that was allowed to Honduras was described as pathetic. People who are paid to talk about the four major sports in the biggest media market in America could tell that the team stinks right now, and that simply makes the USMNT harder to believe in.
They are not carrying the weight of national expectation because many people are not surprised at how they are playing. They need to have a change of culture which should probably include the release of Bruce arena as their coach.
The condescending tone
Bruce Arena approaches soccer the way an English professor approaches their favorite author.
There is a tone that cannot be described as anything other than condescending because people like Arena think that people like me do not understand soccer. Actually, I understand it just fine and correctly picked Spain to win UEFA 2008, the 2010 World Cup, and UEFA 2012. They played hard defense, and they did not lay off any opponents. Perhaps Arena should watch some tape.
